Mandarin Orange And Almond Chicken Salad

I’m lucky that Bill loves a good entrée salad as much as I do, and one of our favorites is Mandarin Orange and Almond Chicken Salad. I’ve been making it since we were first married so it’s definitely a tried-and-true recipe. My college roommate first shared the dressing recipe with me, however, I’ve altered it slightly over the years. At some point I added the barbecue chicken, and voila, we had a delicious dinner salad.

I recently discovered Smart Chicken at Harris Teeter, and it makes my life so much easier. Smart Chicken is both hormone and antibiotic free, it’s air-chilled (no water added), and has been trimmed of all fat, skin, and connective tissue. Chicken is one of those meats that I have trouble eating after I’ve worked with it raw, and the less I have to mess with it the better I can stomach the finished product. Yes, Smart Chicken is more expensive, but for me, it’s worth the extra cost.

Once the chicken is clean and ready to go, I place it in a large skillet covered with a thin layer of smoke-flavored barbecue sauce. Next I turn the chicken to cover both sides or add a little more barbecue sauce on top. I pour about a cup of water around the chicken, bring it to a slight boil, cover it, and then immediately turn the temperature down and simmer on low for about 30 minutes until tender.

While the chicken simmers, I make the salad dressing and prep the other items for the salad.

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

Rind of 1 orange, grated

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup canola or avocado oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Salad Ingredients:

4 prepared chicken breasts

1 head green leaf lettuce, mixed greens, or baby spinach

1 small cucumber

2 bunches scallions

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 15-ounce cans mandarin oranges

While the chicken cools, I arrange the lettuce/spinach on the plate, followed by cucumbers and scallions. Once the chicken cools, I slice it on the diagonal and arrange it on the bed of veggies. I top it off with mandarin oranges and slivered almonds.

For your convenience, I’ve made a recipe card for you to print out and file with your other favorite recipes. Enjoy!

I found the Smart Chicken at Harris Teeter and yes, it is more expensive. It’s $8.99/pound, Perdue is $5.99/pound, and Harris Teeter brand is $4.99/pound (I checked yesterday just for you!). I cut so much chicken off when I’m trimming the fat away that I waste a lot of perfectly good chicken, and with this I hardly have to trim it at all.

[…] before hopping in my SUV for my six-hour drive. After mom’s delicious dinner of my favorite mandarin orange salad, I pulled out my laptop and did one of my yoga routines. After sitting in the car so long, my body […]

I’m Debbie (or Deb), a lover of family, life, and all things running; and I aspire to share my love of fitness through Deb Runs. As a personal trainer and running coach, I enjoy helping others adopt a healthy lifestyle to improve the quality of their lives.

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